. . . but we ended up with more like double that. I joined Ron and Sean on Ed Sizemore’s Manga Out Loud podcast for a multifaceted look at the crazy weekend.
Category: Conventions
NY Comic Con & Anime Festival 2011: Exhibitors Hall
Panel, premieres, sneak previews, guests, and are all strong reasons to go to big time comic conventions. But the number one draw of any major comic convention is its dealers room and NYCC is no exception. All the major and most of the smaller comic publishers have booths showing off their latest titles and any animated or live action tie ins they have. There are also video game and toy companies out in full force. And then there are countless booths selling swords, costuming products, nerdy books, boardgames, card games, and anything else even slightly geeky. Also there are dozens of small shops selling everything from classic comics to every conceivable piece of Dr. Who merchandise. And most booths have something free for you can take or at least try to win alongside merchandise you can only get at a con. I did not spend a dime but I left with everything from a picture of me with the Justice League to a collection of housewares. If I had any money it would have quickly disappeared. I am not made of stone and they had many a wondrous item.
Promotional, early, and exclusive merchandise is one of the big draws to a pop culture convention such as NYCC. This is a place where companies show off, talk up, and sell you the consumer on their latest wares. This becomes a rather profitable situation for fans. Many booths aren’t actually selling anything so talking with people has less of an expectation. And anyone who is selling is so overwhelmed that you can browse without bother. In any case, you can leave the exhibitor’s hall weighed down by mountains of stuff whether you wanted to spend money or not.
NY Comic Con & Anime Festival 2011: The App
Last year I heard pretty much nothing but complainants about the app from the New York Comic Con. As I mentioned in the general impressions report the reception in the Javits Centeris awful. So when the app was Internet access dependent last year, meaning most people could only use the app when they were outside, making it next to useless inside the con itself. Also someone like me who has a iPod Touch without constant Wi-Fi could download the app but it would be useless to me a good deal of the time. Thankfully this year they took a good deal of the criticism on the app into account and made something far more usable for everyone.
Reverse Thieves 